Open House: Do you think it is the sole responsibility of the administration to curb pollution?

Incentivise celebrating a cracker-free Diwali

Let us take a vow to welcome the festival of lights with cheer in our eyes and heart without bursting crackers. We need to wake up from deep slumber and save our flora and fauna by celebrating green and healthy Diwali. The administrators should handle the situation innovatively and efficiently. Incentives should be extended to the people who celebrate cracker-free Diwali. Awareness campaigns should be organised to educate the people residing in hinterlands about the hazards of playing with firecrackers. Celebrities and intellectuals should be roped in to encourage people to celebrate Diwali in a harmonious manner. Moreover, the vendors should not be permitted to sell dangerous and heavy crackers which harm the health and hygiene of the ecosystem. Still, if people don’t understand and spoil the ecological fabric, the government should handle the situation with an iron hand before it is too late. Environmental protection laws should be implemented in letter and spirit to rein in the culprits. Last but not the least, the common men should also come forward and show some responsibility to help the administration to safeguard the lungs and liver of the nature. Let us take a vow to gift a plant sapling to our loved ones to increase our eco-footprint and help reduce the pollution through our small but meaningful steps.

Simranjeet Singh Saini

Instead, spend time with family & friends

Come winter, the whole NCR region and its surrounding areas will be enveloped in the toxic smog blanket, primarily due to stubble burning, industrial waste and burgeoning vehicular traffic. This deteriorating environmental condition is further compounded by the celebration of Dasehra and Diwali. The rising pollution level is detrimental to human health, ecology and economic prospects, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The environment and health analysts have long drawn attention to the worsening air quality in the state. The government, NGOs and civil society organisations have been continuously campaigning against the prevailing appalling issue. Every year, ahead of these festivals, the local administration makes tall claims about its preparedness to check the menace but without much durable success. All appeals and warnings fall on deaf ears and people flout rules with impunity. Isn’t it a mockery of democratic functioning? Are we a civilised society or mere psychopaths? Does it behove the proud inheritors of a rich cultural legacy to behave irresponsibly? People should rise above narrow religious dogmas. They should realise that Diwali is a sacred occasion to spend quality time with family and friends, exchange sweets and light earthen lamps and candles. On the governmental front, it is imperative to have the correct combination of political will, appropriate implementation and a strong compliance mechanism to address the problem. Moreover, the authorities should focus on sensitising people to embrace green Diwali. Let us all earnestly contribute towards making our environment neat, clean and safe for future generations.

Tajpreet S Kang

Organise community laser shows

The festive season has begun. Diwali is celebrated every year with enthusiasm and joy across the country. However, certain unwanted bad practices such as gambling, extravagant parties and influencing men in position with expensive gifts to serve the vested interests have cropped up in the society. Such vicious trends have given rise to many evils and malpractices in our human relations. On Diwali night, crackers are burst everywhere which leads to mishaps apart from polluting the air. In the wake of grossly deteriorating air pollution index (API), even the strict restrictions imposed by the NGT and PCBs to save environment go haywire. It is the responsibility of each one of us to be serious about the problem. While the crackers with harmful chemicals are banned ab-initio, the government should organise community laser-shows and arrange common display of green fireworks only. To prevent the eventual outages, it should rather firmly enforce the ban. The cracker selling ships as well as the firework manufacturing concerns is forewarned to shut down and the violators are dealt with carrot and stick policy. Surely, the mindset has to be rechristened for other options to make merriment than giving room to severe health hazards by aggravating the environments issues. The health and life of the citizens has more significance than momentary pleasure of few hours! As preventive measures, NGOs and civic societies be proactively involved to sensitise the public at grass root level about the ill-effects of poisonous gases and chemicals emanating on bursting crackers. To lead better lives, we all should realise the essence to maintain air quality and avoid pollution, lest the ban without enforcement, will merely be a farce!

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

Highlight ill-effects of pollution on health

Though the adminstration had miserable failed to control the pollution owing bursting of crackers, we all are also responsible for not abiding the laws of land. A wide publicity and awareness is required to highlight the effects of pollution on health of children and elderly. Schools and colleges should also take responsibility to make the students aware of the dangers of pollution and accident during cracker bursting. Anyone violating any law must be punished severely and penalised heavily. Law and order enforcing agencies must ensure that laws breakers are challaned.

GS Bhullar

Impose blanket ban on use, sale of crackers

Diwali is coming and every year we pledge to celebrate cracker-free and noise free. All measures taken every year to ban or to lessen the pollution ultimately don’t produce desired results. Fire crackers are one of the main reasons for alarmingly increased air pollution in the country. There should be blanket ban on the use and sale of any kind of crackers. Toxic air quality, chemical hazard, noise pollution and almost every year people met with fatal accidents. It leads to respiratory problems, causes sleepless and restless nights. The condition of the workers working in these cracker factories is pathetic. They work there 24 hours to meet the demand in a very bad condition in chemicals. Crores of rupees are spent every year to burn these crackers but the money spent on this temporary happiness can be spent on good cause to bring permanent smile on some. Banning completely seemed to be the only option left. Instead of banning the government should take an action to close these units and the workers working there should be employed somewhere. It is not only the government duty; we should also cooperate in this mammoth task. This Diwali enlighten your house with low cost led lights.

Shashi Kiran

Crackers lead to health problems

Along with the administration, the masses are also responsible for this. Though Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has appealed to the masses to refrain from burning crackers, the administration allows the burning of crackers for a few hours. The masses visit to their nears and dears and exchange gifts on the eve of Diwali but at night bursting crackers upsets the pollution level and creates problems for those who are suffering from asthmatic, bronchitis face problems due to pollution. To curb the menace, the administration can only frame laws but implementing it is the real issue. Citizens should to come forward in supporting eco-friendly ways to celebrate Diwali this year.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Ensure that citizens breathe in clean air

The ever-worsening situation of air pollution in the entire northern India, particularly the NCR region, has assumed alarming proportions that adversely impacts public health, environment and economy. Along with faulty garbage management, industrial smoke, dust and vehicular traffic, stubble burning, coal-fired power plants, the brazen bursting of fire crackers on Dasehra and Diwali contributes to the pollution conundrum. Despite the restrictions imposed by the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court, people celebrate these festive occasions with much fanfare and extravaganza. From time to time, the government has taken umpteen noble initiatives and policy measures to reduce the deteriorating level of air quality index (AQI). But due to absence of adequate legal framework and ambiguity about implantation, the problem continues to persist. Still more needs to be done. It is the joint moral and constitutional responsibility of the district authorities and the general public to address it on priority basis. It is beyond comprehension why the government does not put a blanket ban on the production, sale and use of traditional fire crackers. At least, the administration should tighten the noose on unauthorised cracker manufacturing units and the shopkeepers selling the stuff without license. It should fix time for bursting crackers and take strict penal action against the obdurate young violators. We need prepare a comprehensive, integrated and long-term plan of action to address the grave issue. Promoting green, eco-friendly festivities will ensure that citizens breathe in cleaner air.

D S Kang

Bronchitis, asthma patients worst hit

Diwali is a special festival celebrated not only in India but world over but the burning of crackers on the occasion is not a good thing. It not only causes air and noise pollution but also damages vital organs of the body like eyes. During my tenure at CH, Jalandhar and Kapurthala, I used to be busy whole day and night attending to all such injuries cases during Diwali. There are some eco-friendly crackers but youngsters only like strong and noisy crackers. In the US, during special occasions, the local authorities earmark the places where different types of fireworks and crackers can be burnt. But these firecrackers are not allowed to use in homes or streets. The administration should follow those guidelines to save people from such troubles. People with bronchitis and asthma are the worst hit. The government should be strict on this and people should co-operate with the administration. We should buy good sweets, good clothes and decorate our homes.

Dr JS Wadhwa

Understand value of clean environment

Celebrating eco-friendly Diwali is not a sole responsibility of the administration but a collective endeavour of society in general. There is an urgent need of understanding the value of clean environment in our lives and those festivities which are harmful to public health directly or indirectly need a serious introspection. Diwali, no doubt, is a major festival with wide ramifications in our social, religious and cultural ethos but we have to redefine it in the context of changing circumstances. The public must not only cooperate with the administration but is also under unflinching obligation to keep pollution free environment during Diwali celebrations. School teachers and the parents can play a significant role in convincing their students/ wards to say no to crackers. The public must shun traditional methods of burning oil lamps and candles to replace them with electrical lighting which look more beautiful and is eco- friendly too. The administration must ensure fully enforceable prohibition in the matter of manufacturing, distribution, sale and purchase of all types of crackers responsible for air and noise pollution. The administration must encourage community gatherings at carefully chosen sites to carry out symbolic celebrations of Diwali under a regulated regime.

Jagdish Chander

Active, aware citizenry can play an effective role

• With the arrival of festive season, entire North India is about to get engulfed with winter spell. Pollution is likely to stay more intense during such period. Therefore, raising mass awareness at grass root level against ill effects of pollution on health as well as on environment must be prioritised.
• Hospitals, schools, colleges and crowd centric places of city should install more Air Quality Index kiosks with social messages to celebrate safe and Green Diwali.
• Ward members, councillors and respectable members of the area could also try to convince and ask localities to provide their valuable inputs to curb cracker borne pollution before the commencement of festival through social gatherings.
• More so, social media and WhatsApp groups of every locality can promote houses decorated with candles and earthen lamps. Administration alone cannot curb the menace of noxious crackers. Active and aware citizenry can play effective role to tackle this issue. Nishant Suman

QUESTION

Wrong parking of vehicles, temporary encroachments, illegal cuts on roads and wrong side driving are common problems ailing the city traffic. What steps should be taken to solve traffic congestion on city roads, especially during the current festive season?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to [email protected] by Thursday (October 28)

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